With Labor Day kicking off the month, it’s an appropriate time to consider the meaning of the holiday, not just as a summer sendoff and ushering in of fall, but as a holiday meant to honor the American labor movement, first signed as a federal holiday in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland.

One of the best ways to educate and inspire is through cinema, and there have been many films made about real-life labor movements and union organization, often based on true events. It is notable, however, that three of the most well-known pro-union films aren’t even available for streaming. The Oscar-winning “Norma Rae” (1979) earned Sally Field her first Oscar as the a spitfire garment worker who successfully unionizes her textile factory with the help of an organizer played by Ron Leibman. It’s one of the most entertaining and inspiring stories about standing up to power, and has produced one of the most iconic pop cultural images of the movement, of Field holding a hand-drawn “union” sign while standing on a table in the factory.

Also currently unavailable to stream is John Sayles “Matewan” (1987) starring Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones, about the Battle of Matewan, a 1920 coal miners’ strike in West Virginia. You also can’t stream Hal Ashby’s “Bound for Glory” (1976), a Woody Guthrie biopic that depicts his support of unions and workers through his music during the Depression-era Dust Bowl. If you can, seek out “Norma Rae,” “Matewan” and “Bound for Glory” on DVD or Blu-ray.

But there are some other union and worker-centered films to stream, including “Newsies,” the 1992 Kenny Ortega-directed musical that depicts the 1899 newsboy strike in New York City. Starring Christian Bale, this is a millennial nostalgia piece. Rent it on iTunes or Amazon.

Or take it all the way back to the beginnings of cinema, with Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 film “Strike,” about a group of factory workers who go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia in 1903. The film is as significant for its pro-proletariat political messaging as it is for its groundbreaking approach to cinematic technique and editing. Stream it on Kanopy, the Criterion Channel or rent it on Amazon.

Documentary filmmaker Deborah Kopple’s 1976 documentary “Harlan County USA,” which covers the 1973 Brookside strike of coal miners and their families, won the Academy Award for best documentary. The strike went on for 13 months and Kopple spent years with the subjects, depicting their struggle against the Duke Power Company. Stream “Harlan County USA” on HBO Max.

The Oscar-winning 2019 film “American Factory,” directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, is an updated take on the world of the American worker in this era, about a Chinese factory that opens in Ohio in an abandoned General Motors plant, and the cultural differences and effect on the workers there. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s company Higher Ground, “American Factory” is available to stream on Netflix.

A pair of British films depict the struggle of workers in England, based on true stories. “Made in Dagenham” (2010) stars Sally Hawkins as a Norma Rae-like character, fighting for equal pay for female garment workers, in the film based on the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike, which resulted in the Equal Pay Act of 1970. Directed by Nigel Cole, Hawkins is supported by Bob Hoskins, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough and more. Rent it on iTunes and Amazon.

The 2014 film “Pride” links the labor movement with the LGBTQ+ movement, in depicting the support that lesbian and gay activists provided to the British miners’ strike in 1984. This crowd-pleaser directed by Matthew Warchus won the Queer Palme at the Cannes Film Festival, and stars Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Andrew Scott and George MacKay. Stream it on Kanopy or rent it on iTunes or Amazon.

Finally, last year, a documentary depicting the effort to unionize an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island follows in the footsteps of “Harlan County USA.” Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s film “Union” follows the charismatic labor leader Chris Smalls as he works to unionize his Amazon warehouse. The film had trouble receiving distribution, but is now available to stream on iTunes/Amazon or through Gathr at UnionTheFilm.com.

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